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ESTIMATION OF TREATMENT EFFECTS WITHOUT AN EXCLUSION RESTRICTION: WITH AN APPLICATION TO THE ANALYSIS OF THE SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAM
Author(s) -
Millimet Daniel L.,
Tchernis Rusty
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of applied econometrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.878
H-Index - 99
eISSN - 1099-1255
pISSN - 0883-7252
DOI - 10.1002/jae.2286
Subject(s) - childhood obesity , scrutiny , estimator , selection (genetic algorithm) , identification (biology) , instrumental variable , estimation , econometrics , obesity , computer science , psychology , medicine , economics , mathematics , statistics , political science , machine learning , management , endocrinology , biology , botany , overweight , law
SUMMARY The increase in childhood obesity has garnered the attention of many in policymaking circles. Consequently, school nutrition programs such as the School Breakfast Program (SBP) have come under scrutiny. The identification of the causal effects of such programs, however, is difficult owing to non‐random selection into the program and the lack of exclusion restrictions. Here, we propose two new estimators aimed at addressing this situation. We compare our new estimators to existing approaches using simulated data. We show that while correlations might suggest that SBP causes childhood obesity, SBP is likely to reduce childhood obesity once selection is addressed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.